Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition.

The extent to which pre-Columbian societies altered Amazonian landscapes is hotly debated. We performed a basin-wide analysis of pre-Columbian impacts on Amazonian forests by overlaying known archaeological sites in Amazonia with the distributions and abundances of 85 woody species domesticated by pre-Columbian peoples. Domesticated species are five times more likely than nondomesticated species to be hyperdominant. Across the basin, the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species increase in forests on and around archaeological sites. In southwestern and eastern Amazonia, distance to archaeological sites strongly influences the relative abundance and richness of domesticated species. Our analyses indicate that modern tree communities in Amazonia are structured to an important extent by a long history of plant domestication by Amazonian peoples.

Blood puncture as a nondestructive sampling tool to obtain DNA in frogs: comparison of protocols and survival analysis.

In molecular biology studies of Anura, nondestructive methods to obtain genetic material are needed as alternatives to toe clipping. This work evaluates a nondestructive method for sampling DNA from blood puncture, comparing the performance of three different extraction protocols (Qiagen Kit, Salting-out and Chelex). We collected 134 individuals of Eleutherodactylus johnstonei, extracting blood via puncture of the medial vein using commercial-grade glucometer lancets. We extracted 100-1880 ng DNA, finding no differences between the extraction protocols. We compared the quality of the resulting DNA through amplification and sequencing of the 16S mitochondrial gene. Amplification was successful for the three extraction protocols, although Chelex showed better performance, making it the most recommendable protocol for extraction of DNA from blood. The resulting sequences corresponded to those registered in the GenBank for this species. Additionally, we found no significant differences in survival or weight change between the individuals that were manipulated and a control group (mean survival 66.7% treated, 62.9% untreated). Data reveal that blood samples obtained by puncture are a convenient alternative to other tissues (phalange, buccal swab, liver) that have traditionally been used as DNA sources for anurans. The technique is applicable to small and large species, covering most anuran diversity, provides enough DNA for many genetic applications and produces no noticeable effect on the survival or performance, given that it does not affect the motor parts or the dexterity of the animals.

[Comparative microbiological study of fresh and heat-treated yoghurt in an in vivo animal model]. / Estudio microbiológico comparativo de yogur fresco y termizado en un modelo animal in vivo.

In an acute assay, rats fasted for 24 h were sounded with 2 ml of fresh yogurt, sterilised yogurt or distilled water, and sacrificed at 2, 4, 8 and 24 h. They were compared with non-sounded rats. The survival of the lactic bacteria of the yogurt administered in the animals' stomach and intestines was determined, and the bacteria isolated were to the Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus profiles belonging to the strains isolated originally from the yogurt. Counts of the total number of microorganisms that were grown in lactobacilli and lactic streptococci media were also made. Analyses of the different types of resulting colonies in the lactobacilli and lactic streptococci media was performed. No L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus or S. thermophilus were characterized in this acute assay. The statistical analysis of the results did not show significant differences in the log UFC. g-1, of the intestinal microbiota microorganisms of the three groups of animals in any of the times. In a chronic assay, three groups of animals, after 30 days of nourishment ad libitum with either a semisynthetic diet with 10% of fresh yogurt, or with 10% of sterilised yogurt or controls, housed in individual metabolism cells, were sacrificed. The results did not show meaningful differences in the long UFC. g-1 of the intestinal microbiota microorganisms from the three groups of animals in any of the times. In turn, in the study of the different types of colonies resulting in the lactobacilli and lactic streptococci media, no L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus or S. thermophilus were characterised in this chronic assay. The results did not show meaningful differences in the log CFU. g-1 of the intestinal flora microorganisms from the three groups of animals in any of the times. In turn, no L. delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus or S. thermophilus were characterised in this chronic assay.

Mobilizing pharmacists for STD control.

PIP: In Thailand, there is social stigma associated with being infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STD). That stigma drives many people to treat themselves rather than to go to a clinic or physician's office. The pharmacists and drugstore staff who supply drugs for self-treatment therefore need to be well-informed in order to avoid persistent infections, serious health complications, and increases in resistance to drugs among their clients. This paper describes a pilot project developed and launched by the AIDS Control and Prevention (AIDSCAP) Project and the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH). The project aimed to improve the management of STD practices in Chiang Mai, a province in northern Thailand with high rates of HIV prevalence, by educating pharmacists and drugstore staff and their clients. It was hoped to create a model which could be replicated elsewhere in Thailand. Lessons learned are described.^ieng

Protection of cytochrome c oxidase against cyanide inhibition by pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate: effect of aeration in vitro.

Toxicity of cyanide is related to its inhibitory action on cytochrome c oxidase (COx). The alpha-keto acids pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate are known to exert in vivo certain protective effect against CN- toxicity if present when the poison is administered. We characterized in vitro their protection of oxidative phosphorylation and of the activity of COx in rat testis, heart, and liver mitochondria, as well as that of the beef heart enzyme in the pure state. In all cases the keto acids proved to have a protective action, even when KCN was previously added to the incubation mixtures and inhibition had already been established. However, the extent of the protection seemed to depend upon the degree of aeration. In the presence of the alpha-keto acids, O2 succeeded with 77% efficiency in reversing CN- inhibition of [gamma-32P]ATP synthesis under high aeration, whereas only 15% was achieved if aeration was poor. In poisoned heart mitochondria (1 mM KCN) simultaneous estimations of ATP synthesis and COx activity in a closed oxygraph chamber showed a recovery of only 6% of both activities upon the addition of 12 mM pyruvate. Our results suggest that O2 displaced cyanide from the enzyme and the poison was then trapped by the keto acids to form the respective nontoxic cyanohydrin. The combination of both high oxygen concentration and the presence of either pyruvate or alpha-ketoglutarate was necessary to effectively protect COx against cyanide poisoning.

Cochlear Pathology after stapedectomy.

Two patients experienced sensorineural hearing losses for different reasons following stapedectomy. One had an immediate severe sensorineural hearing loss following a fat-wire implant. Postmortem histologic study revealed severe cochlear degeneration, presumably caused by necrosis of the fat graft. The other patient experienced progressive fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss and vertigo several years after the introduction of the Teflon-wire prosthesis. Postmortem histologic study of this ear showed that the prosthesis had impaled the saccule, causing collapse of its wall with subsequent cochlear endolymphatic hydrops. These findings underscore the importance of atraumatic surgical technique in the performance of successful stapedectomy.

[Congenital tuberculosis. Description of a case]. / Tuberculosis congénita. Descripción de un caso

Presentation is made of a case in a premature newborn, the offspring of a mother with bilateral pulmonary tuberculosis, of placental lesions suggestive of tuberculosis and acute miliary congenital tuberculosis with lesions in liver, spleen, lymph nodes and lungs due to a possible blood stream dissemination starting from the placental infection.